Campaigners had hoped to overturn the original ruling to refuse the review at an oral hearing in London on Tuesday.

The judge Mr Justice Cranston refused their application at the Royal Courts of Justice.

The judge’s decision means that the extension to the hazardous waste site will now go ahead as planned.

However campaigners have vowed to continue their appeal, and said “the fight’s not over yet.”

Carol Fenlon, a Skelmersdale resident who has been part of the campaign against the expansion from the start said: “Unfortunately the judge turned down our application for judicial review of the decision to allow the Whitemoss extension to go ahead.

“But our legal team told us that we have strong grounds to appeal and we shall definitely be doing so.

“This decision wasn’t about the rights or wrongs of having the toxic waste landfill next to Skelmersdale.

“It was about interpretation of government policy, which according to this decision appears to allow landfill developer companies to decide how big a landfill they want and where it should be.”

The judicial review would examine how the proposal has been considered by the Planning Inspectorate and the Secretary of State.

Whitemoss Landfill want to increase the size of the site to four times its present size, That is 150,000 tonnes of waste buried annually for the next 22 years.

Residents organised a protest march, created flyers and banners and conducted several campaigns against the expansion.